Erased
by Loredana Carini
Summary: Power is something Kate is all to familiar with, but when an old memory is resurected Kate looses everything...
1. Chapter 1

"Oooooooooh you are the music in meee" a voice practically screamed.

"What the fuck?" I slowly dragged myself into an upright position and looked at the clock beside my bed.

"JULIEEE!"

What the fuck is she doing at this time of the morning!

She came running into the room with a knife clutched tightly in her hand.

"What is it? Should I call Curran?" her voice was steady even though her hands were shaking like a leaf in the wind.

"No, you should not call Curran." What was her fascination with the ass anyway? "What were you doing in your room?" I practically growled at her.

"Oh" red crept her usually pale neck and cheeks. "I was… well, you see Kate… there's this talent show at school, and one of my dorm mates heard me singing in the shower and signed me up for the show." Her cheeks were practically scarlet by the time she'd finished.

I couldn't help but smile. I never knew Julie could sing.

"You know I've just finished a case at the order and would appreciate it if you kept it down just the biggest bit ever!" I said through the smile.

She looked at the floor, not even trying to meet my eyes.

"Sorry Kate. I just really want to get that song ready for when I go back to school next week."

She looked up from the floor and gave me the biggest puppy dog eyes I'd ever seen from a human.

"Julie, if your eyes get any bigger they're gonna' take off." My smile gone now that I remembered she'd woken me up. "Now go and do something that won't wake me up again".

And with a "huum" she turned and walked out of my room.

"Pfffft, kids" and then I rolled over and went back to sleep.

CRASH! I woke with a jolt, immediately reaching for the throwing dagger that I kept under my pillow.

Silently, I slid out of bed and padded to my bedroom door. It was closed. I never close my door because the handle makes a sound if I open it. Julie must have shut it when I was asleep so she didn't wake me up. Julie! If someone was in my house they might be after Julie.

I wrenched the door open and sprung out into the hall. Looking round I saw nobody there. I padded up the hall to Julie's room. It used to be Greg's room but I couldn't face living in his old room so I gave it to Julie instead.

I poked my head around the corner of her door. Nothing there either. The only places left were the kitchen or the bathroom seeing as I slept where the living room should be.

Walking silently towards the bathroom I considered what might have made the crash. Best case scenario Julie had dropped something worst case scenario something had broken into my apartment and Julie tried to fight it.

"_And she'll have died and it'll be your fault. Just like it was with Greg, Voron and you mother. Because you're weak and everybody you know will eventually die."_

That annoying voice was back again. Always dripping poison in my ear. Almost hoping that I'd fail. I told it to shut up and carried on down the hall. I felt a bubble of fear well up inside me. Fear was good; it would keep me sharp… but what about Julie?

Finally I reached the bathroom. I heard something move inside. As I reached for the door handle the door opened revealing a torso that blocked the whole frame. As I carried on looking up I saw that it lead to a broad pair of shoulders and sitting a top those shoulders was an all too familiar face.

"Hello Curran".


	2. Chapter 2

His head slowly tilted downwards until he was looking me in the eye. I'm tall at 5.9 but Curran was a good 6 inches taller than me.

"Good afternoon Kate" Apparently all manners today.

"What the hell are you doing in my bathroom? Hell, what are you even doing in my house?" I practically growled. I'd gotten 6 hours of sleep at the most and I'd been working for what seemed 24/7 the past week. All I ask for is the chance to sleep for the day then eat my weight in stew (it's nutritious and all I can afford at the moment).

Still looking down at me as if I were in his house he said

"Kate, you might want to put some clothes on, I'm finding it quite hard to concentrate on giving a straight forward answer"

The look on my face must have said it all because a smile teased at the corners of his lips before he regained control of his face.

I looked down at myself and froze. I was wearing literally nothing but my bra and panties. And they weren't even my nice ones. The plan white sports bra and white cotton panties allowed for movement and speed but in a panty parade, they wouldn't even let me through the door.

"I don't need to put clothes on. It's my house and how the hell did you even get through my ward without breaking it?"

He lost control of his face again and he actually smiled. Thinking on it, it was quite a nice smile.

"And for another thing-"

"Wohooooooooa! Holy fuck! You have dimples!

Both Curran and I turned our heads towards the noise. There standing in the door frame of the kitchen stood Julie. I hadn't noticed this morning but it looked like she'd started puberty at last. Probably all of the food that she'd been eating at the school was finally putting some meat on her bones…. I might have to take her bra shopping soon… (Shudder) that's gonna be an awkward shopping trip.

Curran had stopped smiling. All guy again.

"Julie. You told me that Kate had asked me to come over." His voice was stern as if he was about to tell her off.

Julie suddenly paled. For a fourteen year old kid she looked extremely small.

"I-I-I-I-I, well that is to say, errrrr, ermmm, hummmmm… I got nothing"

She gave a weak smile and dashed back into the kitchen.

"So that's why you're here. But surely you would have guessed that I wasn't expecting company by me being asleep?" uggh, either he was just stupid or he did actually want something anyway.

He looked down at the floor, knowing he'd been caught out.

"I needed to talk to you anyway and I thought that since I was already here I could wait until you woke up." He looked back to me and met my eyes. Oh, my, god! If his puppy dog face got any cuter, I'd have to adopt him!

"Puppy dog eyes aren't going to work Curran. Julie tried pulling that trick this morning and it didn't work, and trust me her face is much cuter than yours."

He smiled and leaned on the door frame.

"Ahhh, I'm hurt." You could almost hear the smile in his voice.

"I'm sure you'll get over it" I muttered. "I'm going to get dressed and then we can talk about whatever it is you wanted to talk about."

And with that, I turned my back on him and walked back into my room.

I came out in my relaxing clothes. Soft black leggings, a white vest top that showed the barest hint of cleavage and my brown Ug boots.

Curran was sitting on my poor excuse of a couch reading the book I'd finished last night.

"You know Kate I never saw the appeal romance books and reading this one I still can't see it" he looked at the book in disgust.

"I like them and Twilight is not a romance. It's a comedy. Come on, vampires sparkling like diamonds in the sunlight, there is no way someone would wright about pixie vampires without it being a joke." I couldn't believe that he thought Twilight was a romance! Showed how little he knew about books.

I walked across the room to the chair that was place on the other side of the couch and picked Slayer up off of it. The magic blade felt like of an extension of me and I felt immediately better with it in my hand.

"I've not come here to hurt you Kate; you don't need to be armed." He sounded a bit offended.

"Don't give yourself too much credit. I don't need Slayer to beat you, I'm just waiting for the problem that you're about to drag me into to bash my door down." Yes I was being bitchy, but I was tired.

A hint of a smile tugged at his lips. "Well then we best go and get some coffee before that happens."

"I have coffee here".

"No, you have the imitation of coffee, do you have a coat? It's quite chilly outside."

I noticed that Curran wasn't wearing a coat, just dark blue jeans and a grey t-shirt that was struggling to keep his torso and arms covered without tearing.

Being a shape shifter had its perks. Not only did you get big claws, muscles and teeth, you also got an internal thermostat that kept you running at a toasty warm temperature no matter the weather.

I looked out of the window and saw that it was raining. Greeeeeeat, His Fuzziness wanted to go for a walk in the rain. I thought only tigers liked water.

I turned back to him. "It's raining"

"Scared of a little water Kate?" his voice taunting me to say yes.

"No, I just didn't realize that cats liked water from your stench". In truth Curran smelt very nice. Spicy, manly and with his own underlying musk that just made you want to purr.

His eyes flashed gold.

"I like the rain Kate. I especially like _playing _in it." The innuendo behind the word "playing" left nothing to the imagination.

"I'll go and get my coat.

The smell of freshly ground coffee enfolded me like a warm blanket; the dim of the lights gave the place a welcoming atmosphere and warmed me so completely that I could practically fall asleep at the table… which come to think of it, wasn't such a bad idea.

"Here". A steaming cup of coffee was layed down before me and I almost fainted from the relief.

Curran sat down opposite me with his own steaming cup and took a long gulp. I looked down at my own cup and wondered how much it was going to cost me, this sort of coffee didn't look cheap at all.

"Drink up Kate before it gets cold. I think it'd be an insult to the wolves if you just left it there."

I raised the cup to my lips and gently blew on it.

"You own this place?" I took a sip of the coffee and almost moaned. It was like angels were dancing over my tongue.

"I don't own it, the wolves do, I just get 25% of the profits made. Then that goes into a bank account that I use for the packs everyday needs."

"So you get free coffee, nice." I took another sip of the coffee and detected some chocolate. Oh man, this is definitely going to be expensive. "What is this anyway?"

"It's called Mocha. It's coffee and chocolate mixed together."

"How much has it cost me?" I didn't really want to think about it through the chocolate/coffee haze but it had to end sometime.

"Nothing. I get free coffee here and I "bought" you're coffee, so it's free." He took another mouthful of coffee.

"Last time I accepted food off of you, people thought we were going to…" I felt myself blush. Even now I couldn't get over the awkwardness of the situation.

"Mate" he finished for me.

I could feel everyone in the shop stop and look at us.

"As you were" Curran said over his cup. He didn't even raise his voice but everybody heard it. Of course he would take me to an all-shape shifter coffee bar.

"Yer, that. So that's not gonna happen if I let you pay for this is it?" the Mocha was churching in my stomach as if thinking of being mated to Curran literally curdled the milk.

"I wouldn't think so, but people will take it how people will take it."

He took another long gulp of coffee and set the mug down.

"So why di-"

"Excuse me miss, there's a phone call for you" I turned around to see one of the waitresses holding a cordless phone.

"Who is it?" I never get phone calls at home so getting one at a coffee shop was a marvel.

"It's the hospital. They say they have a girl in their care called Julie and that you are her adopted mother."

Adopted mother? When did that happen? But, oh my god! Julie!

"Give me the phone! Now" I leapt out of my chair and snatched the phone off of the waitress.

"Hello?"

"Hello Kate".

Oh. My. God! It seriously could not be!

"How the fuck are you still alive?" this had to be some kind of joke.

"What, after you murdered me in cold blood? I've been looking all over the world for you Kate Daniels. And now I find that you've nestled down with a little sparrow. But you're a stupid mother hen for leaving her unguarded." He spoke as if berating a child.

"Enough with the bird crap. Where's Julie?"

"I think I'll do to her what you did to me. Shall we start with the fingernails or the toes?"

"She's just a girl. Let her go."

"No, I told you the past repeats itself. Except it's going to be slightly different this time."

"What do you want?" it took everything I had not to scream, cry or chuck the phone at the wall.

"I want what you want Kate. I want the Beas Lord of Atlanta. I've seen your dreams Kate; I know that you want him. Now choose. The sparrow or the lion."


	3. Chapter 3

_(Hey guys. Thanks for reading my fan fic's. Don't be scared to comment, good or bad hopefully these things will only get better. This is set in between books 2-3 and I know I should have put this in the first chapter but I kept forgetting XD enjoy)_

I heard the tone that signalled the end of the call, but it couldn't register. There was no way that guy was still alive.

"Kate. Who the fuck was that?" it was Curran, and he sounded pissed, but it was like my brain refused to work. All I could think about were dungeons and the smell of fear, blood and damp.

I felt hands go around my shoulders and shake me roughly. The phone dropped from my hand and smashed against the floor. The café was silent apart from the soft music coming from the speakers.

"Kate." He brought his face close to mine, starring me right in the eyes. "Tell me who that was." I could hear the command in his voice and it broke me out of my revere. But probably not in the way that he wanted.

"Who the fuck do you think you are? I'm not some pack member you can order around. I'm a representative of The Order and I don't appreciate your tone. Now take your hands off of me. I'm leaving." I moved to go, but it was as if a vice was holding me and was refusing to let go.

"Who was that on the phone Kate?" his voice was soft but there was no mistaking the power in it. I heard a whimper behind me.

"That's none of your business Curran. Now you can flash those head lights at me all you want I'm not telling you. Now let me go."

He took a deep breath and lowered his arms.

"It is my business Kate. I heard that phone call. He wants me. That makes it my business."

"No, it doesn't make it your business unless he attacks you which he hasn't." I stared him straight in the eye and could practically hear Voron shouting at me for making a scene. Heck, he'd be turning in his grave now that I've established emotional connections with people.

I stepped around him to leave but stopped when I heard a growl behind me.

"Kate. Don't test me, you obviously need help, Julie needs help, what did he mean when he said that history's going to repeat itself?" even I could hear the pain in his voice when he mentioned Julie. Shifters have a high child mortality rate. If they don't die at birth then half of them go loup in their teen age years and have to be killed.

"Just leave it Curran. There's nothing we can do now that he's got her, and even if I said that I'd exchange you for her, I have no way of contacting him. And it'd be a trap. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a closed casket funeral to plan." I couldn't help the pain in my voice. I knew there was nothing that I could do for Julie now. He's an expert at hiding and it took me 3 years to track him down last time.

I was just about to open the door when something glinted and caught my eye. I turned my head towards it and the magic immediately took over. The lights flickered off and the fey lanterns came on almost instantly. The radio stopped and the shifters growled with the rush of power.

But I couldn't focus on that. All I could think, see, feel was something on the wall. It looked like… a word. No! Not now! Not in front of everyone. I had to leave. I took one step and my legs buckled. All of my energy was focusing on making this word mine. Pain seized me in its agonizing grip and I could feel my body fitting.

Hands grabbed my shoulders and I screamed as the pain intensified. Immediately the hands left and a cool voice broke through the fog of pain.

"Kate, what can I do to help?" somewhere it registered that it was Curran but I couldn't comprehend it as another wave of pain seized me.

Through the pain I managed

"If… you want… your people to live… you will leave. Evacuate the whole street if… you can. This building… has no containment wards… run!" I felt something rushing up my throat and turned onto my side and coughed it out. It tasted like blood.

I had to make this word mine. And I had to do it quickly or at least with as little back lash as possible. There was a rush of footsteps as everybody rushed to get out of the building. I waited until I heard the door closed to look at the wall.

"Oblivisci"

I screamed the word out as the magic rushed through my body, maximising the torture. Punishing me for using it.

But something wasn't right. Usually when I say the power word the pain subsides, but this pain just seemed to get worse. I could feel magic radiating from me. Someone was banging on a window or something but the magic waves were so oppressive that they kept the door shut. At least it seemed to be doing something I wanted. I coughed up more blood onto the floor and wondered if he pain was going to end. Had I pronounced the word wrong or would it take more than what I'd given to make the word mine?

It didn't matter anyway. Julie was going to die an awful death, be cut to pieces and shredded because of my mistakes. I won't even be able to dignify her memory and release her spirit from this world.

Magic flicked out of the world again and the residue of my magic poured back towards me. The only problem was, there was no room for it. Pain crested as the magic tried to find a way into my body. I threw up more blood. It was as if magic was trying to make room in me by clearing my blood out of my system. The door slammed open and footsteps came rushing towards me.

"What's happening to her?"

"I don't know. She seems to be having a fit of-"

"What?"

"… It's just... I've read about this in a journal. Mages suffer from fits when they have used too much magic. Their body tries to make more magic but there is no more. You see how black her blood is, that's because the magic has been spent. She's used all of her reserves up so her body used the magic in its blood and threw up the waste. But what I don't get is why she's throwing up blood that's red. Not only that, but her blood is too red. Almost scarl-"

"What?"

"She's suffering back lash. When you expend lots of magic it radiates in waves, that probably explains why you couldn't get in, and when the magic flicks out, the residue has to go somewhere so it tries to go back in the body."

"What can I do to help her?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all. If she lives, it's because she's strong enough to handle the magic. We can't even move her without causing her extreme pain."

"How much magic are we talking?"

"To have a reaction this extreme I would say that she would rival Natajara at her lowest point."

"Shit"

I screamed again as more magic tried to force its way into my body. The pain was steady now, and I couldn't decide whether it was better to have brief moments of bliss or just a steady line of pain.

I'd had enough of this. If it was going to kill me then it should just kill me. But I wasn't going without a fight. An idea formed in my head and I focused all of my magic towards my throat. With the next tide of blood I relinquished a scream riddled with magic. I channelled the magic in the blood and in the residue into that scream. And what a scream it was. Scientists can now say that we can smash glass with sound. Everything around me smashed. Table ware, tables, chairs, windows, cup and saucers. Nothing survived from the onslaught of my release. I screamed for what seemed ages. Slowly, I felt the pain start to subside as the magic was channelled into something rather than trying to find a place in my body.

Soon, I felt almost normal again. Weak and still in pain, but my magic levels were returning to a somewhat normal state. The scream faded in my throat and I felt a smile spread itself across my face as pain released me. I felt so weak but it was worth it. If I was going to die then at east my last moments would be peaceful.

"Kate". The voice came as a whine that sounded very cat like.

"Hi Curran." I let out a huge sigh as more pain left my body.

"What the hell just happened?" his voice was rough as if he'd been shouting for ages.

"hehehehehehehehehehe." A giggle bubbled out of my lips. "Can't remember what I was so worried about…. Who are you again?"


	4. Chapter 4

"Kate? What are you on about?" he sounded angry… whoever he was.

"Who are you? I feel funny… actually, I'm really tired. I think I'm gonna get some sleep." I closed my eyes to the world around me and was almost sleep when something very cold slid down my top.

My eyes snapped open and I grabbed the first thing that I could and snarled, baring teeth.

A high pitch squeal emitted from the object I'd grabbed, followed by laughter.

"Kate, you can release him now." A deep voice said. Even from here you could tell that he was trying to hide a laugh and failing.

Who was he to think we were on first name terms? Or even to think that he knew me… whoever he was.

So instead of letting him go, I squeezed harder. I looked around the room and found that I was lying on a floor, covered in blood and surrounded by strange people. Not a good situation for me. I could sense the power they emitted and Voron always said that it was vital that I stay away from power.

In one quick movement I released whoever I was holding, flipped up and had my arm around his throat.

All laughter stopped and a deadly silence filled the room.

"Kate, that's Derek you're chocking there. What's up with you?" my eyes darted to the man who spoke. He was about 6:5, close cropped blonde hair and was covered in muscles. Everything about him screamed power. He was obviously their leader. If it came to it I'd have to take everyone else out (and there were only 4 of them) before I could even get close to him.

"Who are you?"

"Kate, we know Derek shouldn't have poured ice down your top but quit the charade. You have some explaining to do." He took a step forward and my arm tightened around his neck. I felt him start to gasp and felt happy that even through feeling weak I could still pin a shifter.

"Look, I don't know who you are, any of you, and I don't know how you know my name… or where I am, so I'm going to walk out of here with this kid. One block down and I'll let him go. Then I'll make my way back home. We'll all go our separate ways and you won't bother me.

"Kate, you're killing Derek." The leader looked genuinely concerned now.

"That's not my problem, if he dies, then he dies. He shouldn't have let his guard down." My voice was cold and by the looks of it, precisely what they didn't want to hear. The guy I was holding slumped in my arms but I kept my hold on him. I've played that card before, slump and let them think that you've fainted, they let you go then you kill them. It takes 2 minutes for someone to pass out properly and this guy had about 30 seconds to go. I might chuck in an extra minute just for the ice.

"Oh, how I've waited for this day." All heads and eyes snapped to the door (or, what was left of it). A vampire snaked its way into the middle of the room. It was quite a new one by the looks of it, the skin was only slightly grey and the bones were almost in their right places. Its hands were backwards and its feet were pointing in different directions.

The vampire bowed to this pack of shifter's leader and in return he bowed back.

"The People of Atlanta greet the Beast Lord." The vampire said.

"The Beast Lord greets The People." The Beast Lord said.

My mouth dropped open.

"Where did you say you were from again?" my voice was barely a whisper but everybody heard it.

They all turned to look at me with confusion.

"Atlanta. I speak on behalf of The People of Atlanta." The vampire said. Even through his decaying face you could see its masters' confusion.

The kid in my arms had stopped breathing. There was no point to hold him any longer so I let him drop.

Confusion turned to rage inside me. I felt my face twist into a snarl. They must have figured out who I was…. or at least who my father is.

A sword caught my eye, lying on the floor, and I immediately lunged for it. As soon as the sword was in my hand I thrust it upwards into the person closet to me. I went through their ribcage and into their heart. I heard them gasp as their lung collapsed and I moved onto my next target.

This wouldn't kill shifters, but it would slow them down and make it easier to actually kill them.

I heard growls as they shifted into their warrior forms. A meld of beast and man they were nearly impossible to kill, nearly being the operative word.

One, a wolf by the looks of it, lunged at me, I ducked and stabbed upwards so that as he flew over me, my sword cut into his chest and carried all the way down until he fell to the floor. As soon as the wolf was on the floor its mate tackled me from the side and tried to pin me, I gathered up a little magic and sent electric pulses throughout my body, making me painful to touch. The wolf yipped and let go of my arms. My arm seemed to move of its own accord and speared the wolf through the stomach. It howled and slumped off of me, clutching its stomach.

All of the Beast Lord's guard were on the floor bleeding and moaning, that only left him. I turned to face him and could have fainted from what I saw. A 10ft tall monster with a full mane circling his face and trailing down its back. Its claws must have been at least 3 inches long and its snout was scared from previous wounds. Its eyes were pure gold, no pupil or white at all. It opened its mouth and huge, pointy white teeth appeared.

"I don't want to hurt you Kate, stop all this nonsense." The monster said.

Oh dear God. It could speak in warrior form. It could speak perfectly; none of the words were slurred or messed up. This was a truly magnificent sight to behold.

I was about to answer when I felt the vampires presence behind me. They were working together! Fluffy over here would distract me whilst the vamp took me out.

No. Chance.

I whirled around and stabbed the vampire through the eye as it lunged at me from the ceiling. It screamed in pain as I withdrew my sword. I brought it up and quickly cut down. The blade tore through the neck of the vampire and severed it from its body.

Something tackled me from behind and I landed face down on the floor with my hands behind my back. It snarled in my ear and lifted me up. Its hands were so big that it only needed one hand to hold my wrists. I was now facing the Beast Lord while he was holding my wrists in the air. I looked straight into his eyes and sent a huge current of magic through my wrists and into his hand. His face turned into a snarl but he still held on. I sent more magic to my hands, stored it there and let it go in one big flash. He roared and let go. Immediately he tried to grab me again, but I tucked and rolled in the direction of my sword. I felt it in my hand and swung it round in an arc to keep anything away from me. I heard a growl as it sliced the Beast Lords chest.

I ran for the door but the Beast Lord grabbed my feet and I fell, my hands just centimetres away from the wrecked door. He started pulling me backwards and I screamed. I used magic to fuel it so the people outside would hear. Of course, they should have heard the roaring and growling, but a woman screaming usually brings more people than a monster's roar.

He out a paw over my mouth and I put down hard. Yer, that bit failed; apparently Mr Monster over here had very tough skinned paws. If anything I hurt my teeth more than I hurt him. His paw was covering my nose and mouth and I suddenly found the world lacking oxygen. I struggled feebly against his hold and knew it wasn't going to end in my favour. I saw black dots appear and knew that I didn't have much time left. I pulled the only trick I had left.

"_Amehe". Obey_

I could only whisper it because of the lack of oxygen and I felt him stiffen.

"Release me"

I felt him strain against the power word but he arms slowly moved away from me. I took a blessed breath of air and the dots started to disappear. I found that we were in a quite awkward position. I was lying face first on the floor with him on top of me.

"Get off of me." I put more power into the word, I could feel that his will was strong and it was getting very hard to hold him.

Slowly, resisting each movement, he knelt between my legs. I felt the pressure ease off of my chest as he did and I quickly scrambled away.

"Stay there"

His face twisted into a grimace and I felt more magic being drawn from me to keep him there. I turned my back to him and sprinted to the door. I opened it and stepped into the daylight.

I took two steps and felt the Beast Lord break free with a huge roar. There was nothing like it. I could feel the floor vibration and could see the windows rattling, threatening to break more than they already were.

I turned around and saw the Beast Lord start walking towards me, he seemed to have lost any control that he previously had. I felt fear squirm in my stomach and knew that I would not win another fight. I turned around only to have someone punch me. They hit me in the temple and I collapsed to the floor.


	5. Chapter 5

_**(hey guysx thanks for all of the comments and encouragement, I'm really glad that you enjoying my storiesx a big thanks to Kay030 for being a loyal follower since the beginning XD this next chapter gets a tiny bit weird. Kate gets strapped to a table and things are implied. Nothing happens to her don't worry, and I don't mean to offend anyone. Just thought I'd give you a heads up. Comments are welcome, and I won't moan if you criticize as long its justified. Enjoy XD)**_

I awoke in darkness and to the sound of cackling. It sounded evil and cruel, just like one of those witches in films that have green skin. My head hurt like a bitch and every other part of me hurt as if I'd had a 3 tonne truck dumped on me and then a giant stamped on it just to make sure that I would ache in the morning.

I tried moving and groaned with the effort. The cackling stopped and I heard footsteps approach. I tried to sit up but found that there was a thick metal belt surrounding my stomach preventing me from doing so. I tried moving my arms and legs and found that they too had been strapped down.

Not good.

A door opened and a bright light shone through the crack making me squint. I closed my eyes against the light and heard footsteps approach. For the first time I felt a draft and realised that I was totally naked.

A finger started trailing its way up my leg, leaving goose bumps in its wake. It skimmed the edge of my thy and carried on upwards, circling my belly button and carrying up through the centre of my chest until it reached my chin where it grabbed my face roughly. I thought the hand was going to crush my face. I whimpered and the hand let go.

"I have waited years for this. To see you on the table, as vulnerable as I was. The feeling of helplessness and hopelessness. I want you to know Kate that it is because of you that I had a reason to live. To not give up and die like I so wanted to. To see you suffer the way I did." The voice was deep and horse as if he'd been shouting too much… or screaming.

"I have no idea what you're on about, or who you are, now let me go you prick!" I shouted at him. Who even was this guy? It seemed like he knew me, but I couldn't remember a thing about him.

"Ah, so it worked. I thought it would, and from what I saw, it hurt you like hell too. I couldn't help but smile when I heard your screams; they were like music to my ears."

"What are you on about?" This was getting tiring and I had a bad feeling that he had a lot more to say.

"I planted a spell in that café and when you looked at it; your memory was wiped totally clean of the last 16 years." I could hear the smile in his voice.

He let out a high pitched whistle and a few moments later someone was pushed through the door. They landed on the floor with a thud and a groan of pain followed.

My captor left my side and picked them up by the arm. As he got closer I could make out that it was a small girl. She was unbelievably thin as if she hadn't eaten in years. Her black hair hung limp around her shoulders and she was dragging her feet as if she had no energy to move. Thankfully, she was clothed.

"Kate, I would like you to meet your ward, Julie. She's fifteen years old and you took her in after her mother was murdered in a case you were working on. You care about her very much and did everything you could to protect her. You sent her to an expensive boarding school in the middle of nowhere with armed guards and the best teachers that you could afford. But I still found her; I broke into that stupid school and stole her. You wasted your money. You really did. "

He paused for a moment to let all of this sink in.

"And now, you can watch, helpless while we start tonight's entertainment. I think we'll start with this one first." To emphasise the point he shook Julie.

He whistled again a pack of dogs came running into the room.

"These dogs have been trained to eat their meals very slowly. They've also been trained to eat live prey. This makes for a very slow and painful death. And you get a front seat. Lucky really, because this is something that you'll never see again. Of course, once I'm done with you, you'll never see anything again. "

The dogs formed a circle and waited for their master to make the next move. I started struggling against the bonds with everything I could. Julie was whimpering quietly. He must have given her a sedative to stop her from moving.

He raised his arm and lifted Julie off of her feet and walked over to the dogs. They started jumping and yipping as they saw their next meal. I was still struggling when the wall behind my exploded. Debris flew everywhere hitting the dogs, Julie, me and my captor. I could do nothing as my naked body was pelted with rocks and dirt whereas the dogs scattered and ran out of the room through the door.

My captor screamed and threw Julie across the opposite side of the room where she landed and lay unmoving. He ran towards me, screaming in rage. I struggled again against my bonds but I was strapped down too tight and could not move. He pounced on me and landed on my stomach, knocking all of the air out of me.

"Looks like we're going to have to speed things up here darling" he said and with an evil grin he lunged and bit down on my neck. Fire raced through my veins as they were drained dry and every hope I'd ever had of staying hidden from my father, gone.

Black spots started appearing in front of my eyes as my body started to shut down. A roar echoed in the room and the vampire was torn off of my neck. The last thing I saw before I died was the face of a lion.

Why grandma… what big teeth you have.


	6. Chapter 6

*Curran P.O.V (point of view)*

"122, 123, 124, 125,126…."

The sound of Mahon counting the number of push ups I did helped to distract from the bane of my existence from plaguing my thoughts. Kate Daniels. Every time we met we almost killed each other or something nearly killed us. That little stunt she decided to pull at the café had really put a dent in the profits of the pack this month. Not to mention that fact that the café was completely demolished and would need a complete remodelling.

She didn't even stick around to explain what had made her go crazy. Something didn't seem right about this though. Why had Kate gone crazy and tried to kill everyone? Why had the vampire shown up? And where had Kate gone?

"150. Right that's it Curran, we're done for the day. Go meditate then shower and we'll get some dinner. I don't know about you, but I'm starving." I got up off of the floor and pulled him into a hug. We slapped each other on the back a couple of times to make it manlier and pulled apart.

We were walking to the door when a knock came from the other side. We glanced at each other and ran for the door. No one came in my rooms unless it was an emergency. I yanked the door so hard it came off of the hinges. On the other side was a 6ft tall monster. A mixture of man and hyena stared at me with crimson eyes.

"Theresh a leeeon downshtairs shir. Aanddd it doeshn't have an eshcort" his words were mangled by his misshapen jaws. A strand of drool slipped out of his mouth but I was out of the door before it hit the floor; as was Mahon. We changed into warrior form as we charged down the stairs.

An animal as big as a lion on our territory without an escort was unheard of. I had patrols running the perimeter all the time. If they found someone or something they'd call it in and wait for an armoured escort. To sneak onto pack grounds was an achievement in itself, let alone get to the keep. If I didn't kill whoever this guy was, I'd give him a medal.

Mahon and I arrived at the exit of the keep in full warrior form. Mahon was alpha of Clan Heavy and was monstrous mix of a Kodiak bear and man. I was alpha of all of the clans and was only just taller than Mahon in my warrior form. It was still a mystery as to which of us would win in a fight between us…. And I wasn't too sure that it would be me.

As we stepped out into the midday sun, scents came flooding towards me. The forest that surrounded the keep, the sweat of the shifters building the extension onto the keep and… Kate. Leather, rosemary, chamomile, lavender, sword oil… and blood.

I immediately went on alert when the smell of blood registered in my brain. I roared and charged forward to where the scent was coming from. Trust Kate to turn up bloody and with a lion. What mess had the idiot gotten herself into now?

It took us barley a minute to find the lion. It was lying on the ground licking its paw. It looked up and stared at us with impatient eyes as if to ask what had taken us so long. I growled under my breath and took a step forward.

The lion rose in one graceful movement and walked toward me. We met halfway, lion to lion. We stared each other in the eyes and I saw something feral and wild in its eyes. As if it were loup. I snarled at it and it bowed its head. It knew who was boss. Now that, that was settled my head cleared enough to notice that it had something, no scratch that, it had multiple something's on its back. It slunk back down onto its stomach and one of the something's slid off and ran towards me. I took a defensive stance but quickly noticed that it was Julie and relaxed.

She ran straight into me and embraced me in a hug as tight as she could muster. I turned my head and gave Mahon a puzzled look who just shrugged his shoulders and mirrored my look of bewilderment. I looked back down at Julie to see that she was still in her school uniform, but she was filthy and covered in blood.

I passed her over to Mahon, who took her and put her on his back. I turned my attention back to the lion and noticed for the first time that it was grey just like me. It had to be about 5ft at the shoulder and it yellow eyes looked straight at me. I was looking at an almost mirror image of myself. My jaw fell open and my brain briefly shut down. I thought I was the only one. I looked back in its eyes and almost took a step backwards. I wasn't wrong when I said that its eyes were full of something wild and feral. This lion was loup.

"Mahon, take Julie to the keep. Its loup, I'll deal with it." I said it very slowly and deliberately so as not to startle it. A look of indecision crossed Mahon's face. His instinct was to stay with me and fight but then he remembered that he had Julie on his back. His mind made up, he nodded, turned slowly and silently, walked a few steps, then broke into a sprint and ran as fast as he could with Julie on his back.

With Mahon and Julie safely out of the way I turned my attention back to the lion. It was still lying on the floor, but I noticed something different about it. It had a growing red stain on its back. I sniffed the air and growled. The smell of blood was so thick you could have cut it with a knife.

I edged my way around the lion so that I could see its back. A slender, human foot revealed itself then a very naked leg and female torso followed. Her body was filthy, covered in grime and blood. My eyes snagged on two savage bite marks on her neck and then locked on her face. My heart dropped and I sunk to my knees. It was Kate. Her dark hair hung lifeless around her body, her eyes and mouth wide open in a look of lifeless horror.

I reached out and pulled her naked body off of the lion and cradled it in my lap. I closed her mouth but when I looked in her eyes something inside me broke. Her dark eyes usually so full of fight and defiance had gone dull. The light in them extinguished. I let out a roar that vibrated the earth I knelt on. It shook the trees making the leaves tremble with sadness. I was surrounded by the sound of my own pain. The pain of never seeing Kate again, the pain of never fighting with her again… the pain of never telling her that I loved her. I roared even louder, it was ironic that only after she had died, I realised how much I wanted her to be alive.

I finally stopped roaring, my throat now sore and dry. I looked at where the lion had been and found that it had gone. I heard a rustle in the trees and snapped my head towards the sound and growled. The rustling stopped and someone stepped out of the bush. He took a step forward and I growled. No one else would hurt her, not whilst I was still breathing.

"Your majesty, it's me, Doolittle. I'm here to help Kate. Will you let me look at her?" his voice was soothing but it did nothing to calm my nerves. I didn't care who he was, Kate was dead and all I wanted was to be alone with her and my regret.

A second, bigger figure stepped out of the bush.

"Curran, let the doctor exam the girl. We may still be able to help her." The familiar voice of Mahon filled my ears and tugged on reason. I shook my head to rid it. No one would touch Kate.

They took a step forward and I snarled at them, baring my teeth. They froze where they were and looked at each other.

"Your majesty, we may still be able to save her. Let Doolittle examine her, you don't have to let her go, he can do it in your arms. Can't you doctor?" Doolittle nodded vigorously.

I lowered my head; they let out a breath of relief and slowly walked forwards. Doolittle had a bag with him and out it down by my side slowly. They both knelt in front of me; Mahon for Doolittle's protection.

Doolittle pulled a stethoscope out and put it in his ears. He put the other end on Kate's chest and visibly relaxed.

"We're lucky your majesty, her heart beat's weak, but it's there. I'd say she's lost a lot of blood, but she can still make it if we get her to the keep quickly."

My head snapped up and I glared at the little doctor intensely.

"She's dead. I've seen her eyes. Nobodies home. Leave us in peace." I looked back down at her slack face and wished that I could believe the doctor, but no one could look this dead and be alive.

"She's in a mage's sleep Sire. It's what happens to powerful magic users when large quantities of their blood has been drained or lost. The magic in them has been drained so they shut down and wait for it to replenish itself."

I rose off of the floor, followed by Mahon and then the doctor.

"You swear down on your life that you can save her." It wasn't a question. He either could or he couldn't, and if we left this forest and she died, I would hold Doolittle responsible.

He looked me straight in the eye and with a new found fierceness he said "I swear on my life that if we get her to the keep within the next ten minutes, I will be able to save her life."

We nodded to each other, turned in the direction of the keep and ran.


	7. Chapter 7

*Kate's P.O.V*

I opened my eyes to find myself looking up at a clear blue sky. There were no clouds, no birds, not even a sun. Just plain blue. I sat up and cried out in pain. My hand flew up to my neck to find that I had two new additions to my neck in the form of puncture holes. I looked down at myself and discovered that I was utterly naked, covered in dirt and blood.

I looked around and found that I was on an African savannah; complete with the random acacia tree and yellow grass. On my left was a huge rock that was swarmed with lions, on my right was a water hole which was flanked with tigers, bears, zebras, gazelle, dear, boar…. Some of them native to the surroundings, other seemed to have found a new home. I looked around and found that there were yet more species of animals in the grasses.

My mouth dropped open when I saw a polar bear waltz lazily towards the watering whole.

"Astonishing, is it not?" a voice next to me made me jump.

I turned and saw a woman, equally as naked (albeit a lot cleaner) as me. She had long, light brown hair that fell in wave to her shapely hips. Her skin was lightly tanned and her body was curvy and long. In short, she looked like some boys wet dream.

"Who are you?" my voice weak from astonishment.

She let out a shrill, girly laugh, causing the animals surrounding us to poke their heads up and look around. Once she stopped laughing loudly they all went back to doing whatever they were doing.

"I am Artmeis. Greek goddess of wild animals, the hunt, childbirth and virginity, and I have called you hear to ask a favour of you Kate Daniels, daughter of Roland Builder of Towers and Father of The People."

My mouth, once again dropped open. What the hell was going on? First I lose my memory and now I've been summoned by a Greek goddess.

"And what favour would that be?" my mouth had suddenly gone dry. Getting involved in the matters of the Gods had been drilled into me as a big no-no.

"I need you to kill the Mormo Kate. I need you to kill it and bring me its head." All laughter was gone from her.

"I take it that the Mormo is the vampiric thing that decided I looked like a tasty treat?" I retreated into sarcasm. Better that than to admit how scared I was. This thing seemed to have a serious grudge against me and I was perfectly happy running in the opposite direction to whichever way this thing was going.

"Yes. And now that it has your blood in its veins there's no telling the powers that it shall gain. You must kill it and bring me the head so that whatever wrongs it has done can be undone." He face suddenly crunched, as if in pain and she let out a long groan.

"What's wrong?" I didn't know how to deal with naked goddesses.

"I can't keep you hear much longer. You're magic is trying to drag you back towards your body." She suddenly stood up, dragging me with her. She grabbed my arms and brought me close to her face so that she was looking me directly in the eye.

"Listen to me Kate Daniels. You have been tasked with hunting and killing this vampiric creature. Should you kill the Mormo, I will return all of your memory back to you. Should you fail, you will be cursed to wonder the earth with no memory of anything for eternity. Find the weapons you seek with the Cyclopes. Good luck and good hunting."

And with that, she kissed me fully on the lips, drawing out all of my breath. She released me and I screamed.

I opened my eyes and jumped up off of the bed still screaming.

_Hey guysxx just wanna say thanks for the feedback I'm really enjoying writing this and I hope that you're enjoying reading itx but, like all things, a spanner has been thrown in the works… I have two ideas for the next chapter, both is where Kate wakes up but I don't know how to do it so I'm leaving it up to youx I'll put two brief ideas on the table and you pick the one you like best or you can put your own idea down on how you think that the next chapter should goxx _

_One idea is that kate wakes up and something explosive happens and there's a fight and other fighty stuff happens._

_The other idea is that Kate wakes up and she and Curran have a heart to heart and it's all cosy and lovey doveyx _

_Your choice and I hope I don't let you downx_


	8. Chapter 8

_**(Hey guysxx I'd like to say thank you so much to all of the people who commented and have spurred me on XP this scene was especially difficult for me to write and I don't know whether you guys will like it or not, but I hope that you do. Sorry that it took so long :S)**_

*Curran P.O.V*

I'd sat by her bed for days now and nothing. No twitch of the eye, no twitch of a hand, no movement what so ever.

"Doolittle" I roared. The door opened and the doctor came running in followed closely by his medical team. Ten doctors including Doolittle and none of them could find a way to wake Kate up. Doolittle was finally starting to live up to his name.

All of them visibly relaxed when they saw that there was no change in Kate.

"Your majesty, we've told you multiple times before, there is absolutely nothing else we can do for her whilst she's in the sleep. We've healed her body so much even her scars have gone. You must accept the fact that if she wakes up, she will wake up in her own time." I turned to look at him and saw that I'd been pushing him too far. His eyes were sunken their sockets and his usually pristine scrubs were creased and stained. His med team looked equally disgruntled and tired.

I sighed, letting out the breath I'd been holding while I studied him.

"Go to bed doctor. Let your team have the week off. If there's nothing else to do for Kate then you need to look after yourself and your team."

They all visibly relaxed and they looked even more tired.

"Go and sleep. I apologise for keeping you awake this long." They all turned to leave except Doolittle. Once the room was empty he came and stood next to me. He placed a hand on my shoulder and I felt myself relax.

"I'm not the one in need of healing Doctor. Go and sleep, relax, eat a load of honey. Just go and rest." He removed his hand my shoulder and I felt myself tense up again.

He paused as he opened the door.

"I'm not the only one who needs sleep your majesty." And with that he walked out of the door.

He was right, I felt tired, hell, I was exhausted. I looked down at myself and saw that I looked worse than the doctors. I had stains all over my t-shirt and my jeans looked like they'd seen better days. I looked at Kate. Her hair was fanned out around her head and her hands rested on her stomach, she looked like an exotic sleeping beauty, I leant down and studied her face. Why wouldn't she wake up? I felt my face crunch up in a snarl and I growled. If I roared anymore there would probably be permanent damage to my vocal chords. I grasped her shoulders, my fingers digging into her skin. She's so infuriating! She charges into my life waving that little toothpick of hers around nearly gets us killed twice, defeats almost half an army of undead mermaids and then to top that lot off she ruins one of the packs most profitable establishments, runs away then turns up naked and half dead on pack ground with a loup lion.

But, there was something about her, the way she fights for other people before herself. The way she's so confident in the fact that nothing can defeat her, not even me. My snarl turned into a smile as I remembered what she's like when she's not in fight mode. I'd only ever seen her like this once or twice, but it was always worth it, just to see her relax. My fingers relaxed and my strength seemed to leave me. I leant my forehead against hers and breathed in her scent. I relaxed even more. She just seemed to complete me almost like a… mate would. The realisation hit me. Kate Daniels, royal pain in my backside was my mate.

I moved my head back so I could look at her face when her eyes flew open and she sat straight up, screaming and bashed her head against mine. My head snapped backwards and I saw stars for a few moments.

I shook my head a bit and looked at Kate. She was breathing heavily, gasping for breath. Tears were falling down her cheeks and she started shaking as if she were having a fit. I panicked; I would not loose Kate again. I gathered her into my arms and rocked backwards and forwards, comforting her while her spirit got used to being back in her body.

Soon, she stopped shuddering and we just sat there, her in my arms and me murmuring comforting things in her ear. She turned her head and nuzzled my neck. I felt myself purr and she started nipping at me. I lay down and she started kissing her way up my neck until she found my mouth, she cupped my face and looked directly into my eyes.

We studied each other's face for a few moments.

"Who are you?" she whispered. She studied my face, an expression of concern on her face. She was scared of her feelings. I couldn't blame her really; she had just almost died… twice.

I pulled her to me, her head resting in the crook of my neck. We lay there, enjoying the fact that we were both still alive and in each other's arms, she may not know why she felt comforted by me, but she accepted it.

I looked up at her from where I lay on the bed and saw something in her eyes, something old and raw; it looked like pain, pain of losing everyone she'd ever loved. I leant my head against hers, our lips only inches apart. Her eyes looked directly into mine.

"I'll never leave you" I whispered. And leant onto her lips.

She tasted like spices and herbs and Kate. There's simply no way to describe other than right. She tasted right. Our tongues clashed together as our hands explored each other's bodies. The definition of her muscles seemed softer now; her skin was smooth and her hair like silk that ran in rivers through my fingers.

She moaned into my mouth as my hand brushed past her breast and lingered there, tracing sensual circles with my fingertips. Her hands trailed down my stomach and back up, feeling the hard ridges of my muscles, they swept over my arms and found my hands, pressing them to her heart, between her breasts.

"Who are you?" her voice was riddled with pain and tears spilled down her cheeks as she tried to comprehend the feelings that she felt for the strange man that was me. Her tears spilled onto my chest and I could feel the pain of all of the ghosts who haunted her. Her mother, her father and…. Those she doesn't remember. Greg, Bran…. She must not remember them if she still thinks that she lives in savannah. All of the things she's accomplished over the last two years or so…. Gone, completely from her memory. Should I tell her now or wait? After all, she'd just come back to her body… I'll tell her later, best not to ruin the moment.

Her tears landed on my chest leaving circular drops on my t-shirt.

"I am the person who loves you. I cried over you when you were dead, I've waited by your bed side for you to wake up, I'm the one who has never left you." My voice was a whisper and my own tears left their own marks down the side of my cheeks as I remembered all of those who I had failed to protect; my mother, father, my sister, the pack members who died in my name and Kate. I had failed to protect Kate and now she didn't even know who I was.

"My heart has been broken far too often to let you go and I cannot endanger you with the burden I carry, but I don't think I could bear to walk out of this room." She whispered.

"Then don't." I brushed away her tears with my thumbs and pulled her towards me and kissed her.

I kissed away all of her worries, her fears and her ghosts.


	9. Chapter 9

*Curran P.O.V*

"Uhuhmmm"

The sound of someone's disapproval woke me from my sleep. I growled to see if they'd go away, didn't anybody ever tell him that you should never wake a sleeping lion… especially when he's got his mate in his bed with him.

When I heard no footsteps leaving, I opened one eye and groaned, sinking my head into Kate's neck as if I could hide behind her hair. Doolittle and his team, Mahon, Jim, Raphael and Derek were all standing over my bed with a range of familiar looks on their faces. Doolittle and Mahon looked disapproving, Jim and Derek stone faced as ever and Raphael with that hugely smug grin on his face.

I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes with the hand that wasn't holding Kate and growled.

"Why are you all in my rooms? It's…. I turned my head to look at my clock on my wall… 12:30." I fell back onto my pillow with a sigh.

"Not all of us have the pleasure of sleeping in to the middle of the day your majesty". Doolittle said

"I hardly doubt he was sleeping much" Raphael giggled out.

I growled at him and fell silent, but even I couldn't help but smile as I remembered last night.

"Honestly your majesty, I leave you alone with her for a few hours and you're already in bed with her…" He kept muttering about her irresponsible I was and how I should have gone and got him as soon as she had woken up, whilst he turned to his team and gathered some instruments together to test Kate with. He turned to face me with a stethoscope and moved towards Kate with it. Before I'd realised that I'd done it, I'd jumped and crouched in front of the bed, teeth bared and snarling like an animal.

"Nobody touches her" I snarled.

There was the sound of glass breaking from the bed. I turned my head to see Kate standing on the bed, in all her naked glory, holding the stump of a broken lamp and a look of death on her face…. She looked like an extraordinarily sexy angel of death. I felt a smile play across my face as I took in her body in a better light than I had last night.

"Give him credit Doc, if Kate looked like that last night, it's not surprising he jumped he into bed with her, with muscles like that, I bet she'd real' flexible" you could practically hear sex in Raphael's voice.

"Enough! Everyone out" I roared. Raphael was lucky I was too busy looking at Kate to tear his throat out.

I heard footsteps rush away and a door slam…. And then it was just me, Kate and a broken lamp.


	10. Chapter 10

*Kate P.O.V*

I woke to the sound of voices talking over me. As consciousness came ever clearer to me I found that a thick, warm arm had wrapped itself around my waist and was pulling me firmly against what appeared to be a giant wall of muscle. I kept my eyes closed as I tried to make out what they were saying.

I felt someone nuzzle the back of my neck and couldn't help but arch further back into the wall of muscle as a liquid heat spread through my body, inviting me back into sleep…. NO! I had to stay awake.

I heard more muttering as the wall of muscle and other people carried on talking when suddenly, the sheet was ripped off of me and the wall of muscle was gone with a roar. The cold air bathed my skin making goose bumps rise in response. Great, now I'm really awake a sarcastic voice in my head couldn't resist but say.

"No one touches her" I could hear what I presumed to be the wall of muscle, saying.

I let out a gasp as I felt my muscles lock and something took over my body. My arm took a lamp off of the bed side table and I felt my face twist into a snarl. I smashed the ornate glass lamp shade and brandished the jagged end into on my like a weapon in front of me.

My mind clouded over and all I saw was the naked, wall of muscle that I had slept with last night.

I saw his mouth move and the people behind him rush to the door, but all I heard was my blood pumping through my ears.

He took a step forward and I lunged. The lamp got stuck in the muscle of his chest and, this time, I heard his roar through the pumping in my ears. I screamed as his blood washed over my body and I felt my spirit being pulled out of my body again; only this time, I didn't go to a spirit world, I stayed in the room and watched as my body started to claw at the wall of muscle as I was now calling him.

The door opened and a mountain of a man stormed in, his mouth open, and even though I could hear nothing, I guessed that he was roaring very load as he grabbed my body around the waist and hauled me off of the wall of muscle., who was now laying still on the floor, a lamp sticking out of his chest and his body covered in claw marks.

My body was still struggling in the man-mountains' arms as more people rushed through the door and crouched by my wall of muscle. I looked at my body and saw that my teeth had two new additions to them in the form or a set of ivory fangs. I felt my spirit- self recoil in horror as I took in the whiteness of the skin that had used to have been a dark tan and the blackness of the veins, once full of red blood, now empty, except for the venom that now rang through them.

"You're not in great shape at the moment are you?" an all too familiar voice asked me from behind, making me jump.

"What have you done to me?!" I screamed at Artmeis, who still looked as stunning and as naked as ever.

"This is not my work Katrina, but of one much darker" she said in a stern voice, her brown hair flaring about her in a non-existent wind.

"Then is it that Mormo creature thingy?" I asked desperately "The must be something that you can do!"

I turned my head back to the scene playing out in front of me. My body was still struggling in the man-mountains' arms, which was now covered in claw marks.

"The only thing that I can do is to return your spirit to your body. You, yourself, will have to fight the creatures hold on you. I will be there with you, but only you can fight his hold."

She looked me straight in the eyes and I knew that whatever she was going to do would not be pleasant.

I looked back at the team of doctors trying to remove the glass shards from the heart of my wall of muscle and my demonic looking body. I turned to look at Artemis, took a deep breath and said "I'M ready".

With the confirmation out of the way, she stepped towards me and ran her fingers up my arms, all the while, slowly dragging me closer until our noses touched. She looked me straight in the eyes as her fingers plunged into my chest and grasped my heart. Her body pressed into mine as I arched backwards in pain. Her lips met mine once again, only this time; it was as if she was stealing the very essence of me. The hand that wasn't in my chest ran up and down my back, leaving those wretched goose bumps in its wake.

My vision started going blurry, then suddenly blacked out, and I took in a deep breath as I was back in my body; blacked out again and I could feel Artemis' lips against mine, and the blackness took me and I was in my body. Only this time, someone else was in there with me.

"Get out of me!" I screamed at it. As I spoke I felt a rush of pain as the venom left my veins and blood rushed back and the fangs retreated back to where ever they came from.

Then I reverted back to my demon self as the Mormo regained control once more.

"You are mine now Kate. Your blood runs in my veins. I'll let you have this round, but don't forget, I will return, any time, any place and that time, your precious Artemis won't be able to save you and you will feel the pain that I did for all of those years. Stuck in that wretched limbo, not being able to die or live, whilst you lived on, saving the world and falling in love. I will be back, and you will pay!" the Mormo screeched in my voice.

The venom and fangs left me once more and I was left, hunched over in pain, gasping for the precious air that Artemis had taken from me, my hands clutching my chest, trying to stop a bleed that wasn't there.

Seeing that I had stopped struggling, the man-mountain let me fall to the floor and ran of my wall of muscle, whilst I lay there on the floor, too weak to move.

I felt a blanket cover me and I looked up to see the girl that the Mormo had almost fed to dogs. She looked at me with huge, brown, tear filled eyes. Julie. Her name was Julie. I gave her a weak smile, thankful for the blanket.

Her eyes flicked over the commotion going on by my wall of muscle and then back to me and my blood soaked hands. She recoiled in horror and I felt my smile fall off my face as I realised that, for some reason, I didn't want to upset her.

She looked back down at me, and for some reason, it seemed to calm her. She turned and walked over to the bed (which is where I presume that she got the blanket from) and grabbed some of the pillows. She dragged them over to me and put two under my head, and I instantly felt more comfortable, then she put the others against the closest wall and sat down by it, all the while, watching me with those big, brown eyes.

A roar from where the doctors were turned my attention to them and I saw my wall of muscle stand up, his eyes pure gold and the holes on his chest, mere scratch marks now. He turned his head and saw me. All time seemed to stop as I took in his features. His very well-muscled body, his tanned skin, his face screamed bad-ass, his golden hair was cropped close to his head to grab in a fight. I made the mistake of looking into his eyes and immediately wished that I hadn't. His gaze held me like a snare, his eyes burned my mind with the need to look away, in submission that he was the biggest and baddest person in the room, but even in my weakened state, I refused to acknowledge and respect any power and authority.

He started to walk over to me when a blinding light filled the room and that infernal goddess Artemis appeared between me and the sexy wall of muscle.

As everyone gawked at her amazing, naked body, and the fact that she's just appeared out of nowhere, I covered my head with the blanket and wished that I had my sword and wished that none of this had ever happened.

"Kate, come out of the blanket, not acknowledging me, will not make what we did go away" she sounded genuinely offended that I had refused to look at her naked glory so I uncovered my head from the blanket and wrapped it around myself, making a weird dress and providing me with the tiniest shred of dignity that I could muster. I waved Julie over to me and she helped me stand up. I had to lean on her heavily though, and I could see that she wouldn't last long holding my dead weight, and apparently, so did Artemis, who waltzed over to me and helped to support me, taking my weight off of Julie.

Her hand snaked its way down to my rear and gave it a reassuring squeeze. My face went slack with shock and I would have slapped her, if not for the fact that I was as weak as a lamb…. And if I moved one of my hands, my "dress" would fall down.

"Let's get down to business, Kate has been a bad girl and her past has caught up with her, I have set her a task so that this whole thing can be over and done with. You must help her Curran, or she will die trying. Now that that's out of the way, I must go, my power here weakens by the moment." She giggled, kissed me square on the lips (and for once, it was a nice kiss) and disappeared. Leaving me alone with a scared teen age girl, a group of pissed off shape shifters and no clothes to wear.


End file.
